Politics & Elections Blog: September 2013

Politics and Elections Blog

Trends, tools and news from the Google Politics & Elections team

Helping German Voters Prepare for the Federal Election

Saturday, September 21, 2013

Posted by Jason Brooks, Google Politics & Elections Team
When political information is universally available and accessible, the electoral process benefits. Since 2007, the Google Politics & Elections team has launched programs for more than 40 elections and provided tools that have been used over 500 million times by citizens around the world.

Our motto for Sunday’s German Federal Election is 2013+You. While much of this election’s focus is on political parties--which party will receive the most votes to form a new government, elect the Chancellor, and lead the 18th Bundestag--online information tools can help drive more focus on the voter. We want our tools to help provide information about the federal election, but also offer a way to connect and engage with district-level candidates.

We launched a central hub for the German election--a one-stop shop for voters to access the latest news, top Google search trends, and Hangouts with top candidates, as well as engage with candidates and media through YouTube and G+. The “Your District” map allows voters to find out who is running in their districts and learn more about candidates through social media. Take a look at our just-launched map, join the conversation on G+, and make sure to check back on Sunday, when the map will display real-time official results for each of the 299 districts.